Lessons Learned
by Silver Cat1
Summary: A light-hearted little fic in which both of our beloved Snakes have lessons to learn!


AN: In case you couldn't tell, I was in the middle of watching 'Pretty Woman' when this particular plot bunny bit me. My mother gave me fairly odd looks when I squealed and dove for my computer, completely abandoning the movie. And so, after all that, there are the fruits of my labor.  
  
Lessons Learned by Silver Cat  
  
Misty gray eyes fluttered open. Giving a fierce yawn and a deliciously lethargic stretch, Draco snuggled deeper under the covers and stretched his hand out to his lover...who wasn't there.  
  
The young wizard's brow wrinkled in displeasure. Still in his seventh year at Hogwarts, it wasn't often that he got to fall asleep wrapped in his lover's arms; so waking up alone was definitely not on his agenda! Sighing irritably, Draco set off to drag his lover back to bed.  
  
As he walked down the hallway, he thought back to the previous day and all that had happened. Dark, glittering eyes watching him all throughout the day, making him flush with heat, how very sweet the pumpkin juice had tasted at lunch, how very tired he'd been afterwards, and how quickly he had fallen asleep. //Hmph. Sneaky bastard must have slipped me something.// Not that he had any intention of complaining, of course. He'd awoken several hours later pressed up against a warm chest, long fingers threading through his shoulder-length platinum hair, gently massaging his scalp.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" Snape asked, eyes unreadable.  
  
"Mmhmm," Draco responded lazily, stretching against the long body pressed close to his.  
  
"Good," Snape said, rolling atop the younger wizard, "since you won't be getting much sleep tonight."  
  
"Why not?" asked Draco.  
  
Snape permitted himself an evil grin. "You'll see," he said, before leaning down to kiss his boy senseless.  
  
Much later, after a dinner of pasta (provided, much to Draco's amusement, by a surprisingly domesticated Potions Master), and a leisurely frolic on the bear-skin rug in front of the fire, they lay curled together, watching the flames.  
  
"Well," Draco said, pulling his lover's arms tight around him, "I suppose this answers my question."  
  
"Indeed it does," Snape replied around a yawn. "And, much as I'd like to fall asleep in front of the fire, I don't thing my back would take kindly to it, so I suggest we move to the bed."  
  
"In a minute," Draco said, cuddling close, a contented smile on his face.  
  
Draco rounded the corner, and stopped. Smiling, he leaned against the doorframe, watching as his lover's agile fingers moved across ivory with the skill and ease of long practice.  
  
He moved soundlessly across the floor, placed his hands on the older man's shoulders and began to knead at the tense muscles there.  
  
"I didn't know you played," Draco whispered in Snape's ear.  
  
"Since I was three, although I haven't actually been able to sit down and just play for years. But I guess fourteen years of piano lessons will ingrain it into the bones."  
  
Draco leaned forward to rest his chin on Snape's shoulder, letting his arms drop to wrap loosely around the older man's neck. "You know," he began, "I always wanted to learn to play the piano, but Father always said it was a waste of time and beneath me to learn such a base, Muggle instrument."  
  
Snape snorted. "That does indeed sound like Lucius." He cocked his head, peering at Draco. "Do you play anything?"  
  
Draco hesitated. "No," he admitted softly.  
  
Snape stared at him quietly for a long moment before scooting far back on the bench. "Come here," he said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Come here," he repeated, exasperated.  
  
Confused, Draco nevertheless did as he was told, coming to stand between Snape's spread knees.  
  
"Sit."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Stop questioning everything I say, and just do it!" Snape turned the boy away from him, placed his hands on the slender hips, and pulled, forcing the boy to sit between his legs.  
  
"Now place you hands on the keyboard with your fingers slightly curled." Once again, Draco hesitated before complying.  
  
Snape sighed. "Look, do you want to learn to play, or not?"  
  
Draco's head whipped around, surprised delight sparkling in his gray eyes. "Really?!"  
  
"No, I'm just dangling off the end of the bench for the hell of it! Of course really!"  
  
"But, my father..."  
  
"No matter what else we may have in common, Lucius Malfoy and I have never seen eye-to-eye on music, and we never will."  
  
Draco threw his arms around the older man's neck. "Thank you, Severus!"  
  
"Yes, yes, whatever," Snape said, putting the boy's hands back on the keyboard. "Now turn around and pay attention."  
  
Draco did as he was told, fairly wriggling with excitement.  
  
Snape took a deep breath, wishing there was more than two thin, silken robes separating them. He covered Draco's hands with his. "Now, the first thing you need to know about music, is that the note names go from A to G."  
  
"What happens after you get to G?" Draco asked.  
  
"You start over again."  
  
"So, you go A-B-C-D-E-F-G, A-B-C-D-E-F-G, and so on?" Snape nodded. "That's bizarre."  
  
"Trust me, you'll be grateful for that when you start to read sheet music." Draco shot him a skeptical glance before turning back to the piano. Snape guided the young wizard's hand to the keyboard and pressed on a key. "This," he explained, "is Middle C. Probably the most important note on the keyboard, it will be your main reference point. Eventually, you will be able to identify each note automatically, but until then, and even after that time, Middle C will remain your point of reference."  
  
"Now, follow my fingers." He placed Draco's thumb on Middle C. "Put you thumb on C, your index finger on D, your middle on E, pull your thumb under for F..." And so on, until they had returned to Middle C.  
  
Snape dropped his hands away and wrapped them around Draco's waist, pulling him close to nuzzle his ear. "Congratulations, Draco Malfoy," he said softly. "You just played your first scale."  
  
Draco turned toward him, eyes incredulous. "That's it?"  
  
Snape nodded, barely able to suppress his smile at the youth's disbelief. "Essentially. Of course, you build from there, but that's basically it." He thought for a moment, and then placed his fingers back on the keyboard. "Place your hands over mine."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Humor me," Snape replied.  
  
Draco shrugged his shoulders and did as he was told, taking a moment to caress and admire the long fingers under his.  
  
"Now, close your eyes and relax," Snape whispered with a slight shiver.  
  
Curious to see what his lover was up to, Draco closed his eyes and relaxed, leaning into the comforting warmth at his back.  
  
Snape took a deep breath, and began to play a soft, haunting piece, one that always reminded him of winter nights at home.  
  
"Beethoven?" Draco asked.  
  
"Good call," Snape replied. "How did you know?"  
  
"My nanny didn't share my father's opinion of music, either. She used to play it for me sometimes, when I would wake up from nightmares. It never failed to lull me back to sleep."  
  
"And what things would trouble your slumber?"  
  
"The usual," Draco replied. "Goblins, demons, the monster living in my closet. When I would hear this song, I would imagine this burst of moonlight shining through my window, destroying any baddies that would come for me. What about you?" Draco asked. "What kinds of things did you dream about?"  
  
"Well," Snape said, "I usually dreamed about being tied down to a piano and forced to play scales until my fingers fell off." Draco laughed. "It wasn't until much later that my nightmares began," Snape whispered softly.  
  
Draco frowned, not liking where this conversation was headed. His mind cast about, looking for a safe topic, when he suddenly remembered why he was here. "I'll have you know, Professor," he began, "I was very annoyed with you this morning."  
  
"Oh, yes?" Snape asked, curious. "And why is this?"  
  
"Because," Draco responded playfully, wriggling around in the older man's lap, until he was facing him, straddling his hips. "You broke a very important rule."  
  
"Which is?" Snape prompted, eyebrow arched.  
  
"When you fall asleep with someone in your arms, particularly after spending several hours having hot, sweaty sex with said person, you are supposed to stay in bed, at least until the other person is awake!"  
  
"My apologies," Snape said solemnly. "It won't happen again."  
  
"Good," Draco replied. "Now, give me my 'good-morning kiss'!"  
  
"Yes, sir," Snape whispered, leaning down.  
  
"Mmm," Draco hummed, coming up for air. "Much better." Gray eyes glittered evilly. "You know," he said, "I've always liked that particular rule."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because," he responded, pressing himself closer and placing a kiss on the older man's neck. "It always leaves the opportunity for someone to start some morning mischief." Draco grinned against his lover's neck, his hands trailing down to untie the sashes on their robes.  
  
Ebon eyes grew heavy-lidded with pleasure. "How true." //God, I love mid- morning mischief!//  
  
Reviews would be muchly appreciated. Constructive criticisms are welcome. Outright flames will be sneered at and then used to feed the fire under the Professor's cauldron. 


End file.
